Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

A call was made, and soon the reply came that the reporters at Yan Yu's doorstep had dispersed.

Li Weiguo quickly gave instructions: Not only Yan Yu, but also the relatives of all students from the Zhendong National Defense Academy were not allowed to be harassed by reporters!

Really, who would have thought that after the loosening of media control, we would encounter this kind of situation!

In previous years' large-scale military exercises and drills, the media were unresponsive, only willing to report after being allocated the task by administrative orders.

Now they swarm like dogs that have sniffed out meat!

After dealing with the reporters, Old Li received a document from the cyber surveillance department.

The cyber surveillance monitors hot topics on the Internet daily, focusing on negative comments from foreign IPs on the domestic web. After the Privy Council announced the team roster, a lot of trolls stirred trouble on various social platforms, and it was timely that cyber surveillance notified the relevant departments to have the official media step in and handle it.

After the official media set the tone, the trolls temporarily laid low, but they've become active again recently, crazily sharing Yan Yu's meme "Fighting Sulu, no preparation needed", writing various nonsensical praise-filled narratives.

This is actually a baiting tactic. If you hype up someone unrealistically with a main account, there will surely be many so-called neutral onlookers who take the bait and jump out to play the wise man, "You're spouting nonsense; this person is not that strong", and thus the trolls reach their goal.

When cyber surveillance asked if these people should be banned, Li Weiguo had quite a headache as well.

If you talk about banning them, it gives spectators the impression that "the officials are silencing speech supportive of the Rikoku Cultivators," making it seem as if the military side lacks confidence. After all, you can't expect every netizen to recognize a reverse role-play.

If you say not to ban them, well, if the battle situation turns unfavorable in the end, it's easy to imagine how many people will choose to kick someone when they're down, causing public opinion to spiral out of control—the harsher one is hyped beforehand, the more miserably they'll be trampled afterward. In ancient times, Zheng defeated Duan at Yan, and today there are boomerangs all the same.

Li Weiguo thought it over and over and in the end decided not to intervene.

Although there are many trolls, they haven't yet reached the point of making absurd claims. Ultimately, Rikoku's overall public opinion about you still depends on whether you can win or not.

As long as we win, everything will get better!

But if we don't win, getting cursed is naturally deserved. We can even use it as an opportunity to temper Yan Yu's edge... Hmm, thinking about it that way is rather pleasant.

Speaking of which, has this kid been earnestly preparing for battle on the aircraft carrier?

Curious, Li Weiguo decided to make a call to the Annan Army's commander-in-chief, Zhang Xiangqian, and asked:

"Hey, Old Zhang, I've got a question for you..."

——————————

Of course, Yan Yu was busy with serious matters.

Although he maintained a composed demeanor in front of the ladies, he wouldn't deny that the difficulty of this battle at the Three Isles Treasure Ship was indeed unprecedented.

First, look at the number of participants—we're at a disadvantage.

The enemy is an allied force, roughly two hundred people strong, a staggering gap of 20:1 compared to us Rikoku.

Of course, Rikoku can also muster two hundred Cultivators for battle, but that would certainly increase our casualties—how many Cultivators do we have to exchange for the losses against so many countries?

Since we've decided on a strategy of elite forces, we have to get used to fighting outnumbered. If we eventually find we truly can't win, then we'll have to lift the restrictions, go transcendental, and use the demon army bred from a population of 1.2 billion to ravage the world. Then nobody gets to live.

Next, consider the high-end combat power—we're also at a disadvantage.

We won't mention the Southeast Asian countries; each is a mystical sanctuary for cult practices. Even before the Spiritual Energy Resurgence, there were bizarre incidents like "The Security Bureau hiring Wizards for Spirit Communication to solve cases" or "Candidates seeking Wizard's magic for election help," and after the resurgence, the number of Transcendent beings surged dramatically.

Moreover, they engaged in deadly conflict among themselves; those who survived were no easy targets.

As for the Miti's Three Hawks... although their strength doesn't match Lord Master, is there only one Lord Master in the world? Although most Cultivators from academy backgrounds have had Secret Realm matchups to simulate real battles, their combat experience definitely can't compare to that of the Superhero leagues, which involve genuine fighting.

The Three Hawks truly fought their way out from the masses; there's no watering down their achievements.

Thinking it over, this time we only have an absolute advantage in the highest level of combat power; otherwise, this battle truly can't be fought.

Yan Yu stood on the deck outside the bridge, letting the sea breeze blow as he continued to sort through his long-dormant memories.

The Three Isles Treasure Ship, there really was such an event in the past life. But at that time, I was in college, participating as a keyboard warrior, mainly fighting against online trolls, so I didn't have firsthand information about the Three Isles Treasure Ship Secret Realm.

As for joining the system later, that was after, and Yan Yu had no particular interest in revisiting historical stories... If I had known I would be reborn, I would certainly have studied and remembered fiercely last life, but I wasn't aware, was I?

Of course, my current weight can't be considered light as a butterfly, so this life's battle at the Three Isles Treasure Ship will inevitably have a very different start from the past life.

It's not an exaggeration to suspect, because I, Yan, the strongest in this life, am determined to join the battle, Miti might have deployed more forces to the South Sea this life than in the last one, and that's a very reasonable assumption to make.

"Enjoying the sea breeze?" A soft voice sounded from Li Minghu beside him.

"Why are you out here?" Yan Yu looked back in surprise, "Be careful; it's cold outside, and the wind is strong."

"It's okay," Li Minghu said, "I'm wearing a coat."

Yan Yu looked closely, and it was indeed the case.

Li Minghu was wearing a navy blue and white camouflage high-collar woolen navy coat, which seemed to be warm clothing issued on a ship, matching perfectly with the soldiers on night watch on the distant deck.

Her long hair was tied up into a bun at the back of her head, revealing her neck—pale and beautiful. Yan Yu had seen many girls, but none had skin as fair as Li Minghu's, resembling the creamy luster of white jade. Even though Lingnan Province had plenty of sunshine all year round, it couldn't bother a Valkyrie who was too sick to bask in the sun for long.

Alright, alright, I acknowledge you, Li Minghu! I'm willing to call you the fairest of this world!

Being closely observed by Yan Yu, Li Minghu didn't react much. Accustomed to various gazes due to her frequent coughing, she continued to stare at the Three Isles Treasure Ship in the distance. The originally magnificent fleet was now but a vague and indistinct silhouette on the sea with extremely low visibility, as if it could fully merge into the night at any moment.

"I want to ask a question," Li Minghu asked softly.

"Go ahead," Yan Yu withdrew his gaze from her and looked together with her into the distance.

"I want to know... what does it feel like to kill someone?" Li Minghu asked in a low voice, "Does it really make you vomit? Will you be tormented by guilt, unable to escape the shadow for a long time?"

Yan Yu guessed she would ask about the matters of war but did not expect her to raise such a moral-related question.

Clearly, although the battle at Changbai Mountain had been kept secret, it was only from the outside world. It was impossible to hide such information from someone at the rank of the commander-in-chief of the four armies. If Li Weiguo could hint at Yan Yu, then Zhang Xiangqian could certainly suggest something to Li Minghu.

The Zhenhai Team, despite being a group of girls often showing off and flirting, actually had several lives on their hands. The Qingan Team, on the other hand, were genuine innocents, who hadn't even killed a chicken growing up, so it was understandable that they would have similar worries this time. Discover hidden content at empire

"Yes, it does," Yan Yu answered seriously, "It's just like how guys get nosebleeds when they see up a woman's skirt, just as novels and animations depict—it's all true."

Li Minghu couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

Perhaps she laughed too hard, for she bent over to cover her mouth with her hand and coughed for a while before regaining some strength to say,

"Sorry."

"It is quite cold out here; why don't you go back inside?" Yan Yu asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Li Minghu said after a moment of silence and sighed, "I've always wanted to know... what it feels like to be dead. Maybe after I really kill someone, I will have a deeper understanding of death, right?"

Yan Yu thought to himself that she had indeed asked the right person. "What does it feel like to kill" and "what does death feel like"—I'm probably the only person in the world who is qualified to answer both of these questions.

"Well, if you don't ask me how I know, I can give you a rough idea."

"Go ahead, I won't ask."

"Killing depends on who you kill," Yan Yu said calmly, "When two opposing cultivators fight to the death, each wishing the other would die immediately, then when you kill your enemy, you'll only feel an intense surge of relief, glad that the dead person isn't you. There's no vomiting or guilt, those are naive fantasies made up by people living in peaceful times."

"But if you're killing someone who can't fight back... well, I guess you're not likely to do something like that. Never mind, let's not talk about that."

"As for death, you can think of it as a longer, dreamless deep sleep. The fear of death is a privilege of those whose natural lifespan has not yet expired. When you are about to embrace death, in reality, you won't feel much fear. If I must say, it might be more of a reluctance."

"Cough, cough... Reluctance?" Li Minghu coughed a few times and asked curiously.

"What is the one regret in life you'd most like to make up for if you could live again?" Yan Yu smiled wistfully and said, "It's these things that will flash through your mind like a moving picture show. Then you'll realize that, no matter how much you don't want to leave this world, there's nothing you can do about it. The only thing left for you is to accept it."

"Did you accept it in the end?" Li Minghu asked, intrigued by his serious tone.

"Hmm—" Yan Yu planned to tease her by dragging his words out.

Seeing Li Minghu looking at him without blinking, he slowly answered,

"No."

In my past life, I didn't accept it.

That's why I turned back from the gates of Hell, to send those who deserved to go down there...

To hell in this lifetime.